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Israel strikes Gaza tunnels as truce efforts remain elusive
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military unleashed another heavy wave of airstrikes Monday on the Gaza Strip, saying it destroyed militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders.International diplomacy to end the weeklong war that has killed hundreds appeared to make little headway.
Israel has said it will press on for now with its attacks against Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the United States signaled it would not pressure the two sides for a cease-fire.
The latest attacks destroyed the five-story building housing the Hamas-run Religious Affairs Ministry, a building Israel said housed the main operations center of Hamas’ internal security forces.Israel also killed a top Gaza leader of Islamic Jihad, another militant group whom the Israeli military blamed for some of the thousands of rocket attacks launched at Israel in recent days. Israel said its strikes destroyed 15 kilometers (9 miles) of tunnels used by militants.
At least 212 Palestinians have been killed in the week of airstrikes, including 61 children and 36 women, with more than 1,400 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.Ten people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in the ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel.
Violence has also erupted between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, leaving scores of people injured.On Monday, a Jewish man attacked last week by a group of Arabs in the central city of Lod died of his wounds, according to police.
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Biden expresses ‘support’ for cease-fire in Netanyahu call
President Joe Biden expressed support for a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers in a call girls in delhi to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the eighth day of air strikes and rocket barrages that have killed at least 200 people, most of them Palestinians in Gaza.
Biden stopped short of joining the growing demands from Democrats and others for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting.But the White House readout of the call showed increased White House concern that the fighting — including Israeli airstrikes aimed at weakening Hamas — come to an end, while still expressing support for Israel.
The U.S. leader also «encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians,» according to a White House readout.
As the worst Israeli-Palestinian fighting since 2014 raged, the Biden administration had previously limited its public criticisms to Hamas and declined to send a top-level envoy to the region, or press Israel publicly and directly to wind down its latest military operation in the Gaza Strip, a six-mile by 25-mile territory that is home to more than 2 million people.Cease-fire mediation by Egypt and others have shown no sign of progress.
The United States, Israel´s top ally, also blocked for a third time Monday what would have been a unanimous statement by the 15-nation U.N. Security Council expressing «grave concern» over the intensifying Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the loss of civilian lives.The final U.S. rejection Monday killed the Security Council statement, at least for now.
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Supreme Court to take up major abortion rights challenge
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to a showdown over abortion in a case that could dramatically alter nearly 50 years of rulings on abortion rights.
With three justices appointed by President Donald Trump part of a 6-3 conservative majority, the court is taking on a case about whether states can ban abortions before a fetus can survive outside the womb.
Mississippi, which is asking to be allowed to enforce an abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, is not asking the court to overrule the 1973 Roe v.Wade decision confirming a woman’s right to an abortion, or a decision 19 years later that reaffirmed it.
But abortion rights supporters said the case is a clear threat to abortion rights. «The court cannot uphold this law without overturning the principal protections of Roe v. Wade,» Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a call with reporters.
Even if the court does not explicitly overrule earlier cases, a decision favorable to the state could lay the groundwork for allowing even more restrictions on abortion, including state bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks.
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Biden boosting world vaccine sharing commitment to 80M doses
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S.will share an additional 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines with the world in the coming six weeks as domestic demand for shots drops and global disparities in distribution have grown more evident.
The doses will come from existing production of Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine stocks, marking the first time that U.S.-controlled doses of vaccines authorized for use in the country will be shared overseas.It will boost the global vaccine sharing commitment from the U.S. to 80 million.
«We know America will never be fully safe until the pandemic that´s raging globally is under control,» Biden said at the White House.
The announcement comes on top of the Biden’s administration´s prior commitment to share about 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not yet authorized for use in the U.S., by the end of June.The AstraZeneca doses will be available to ship once they clear a safety review by the Food and Drug Administration.
Biden also tapped COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients to lead the administration’s efforts to share doses with the world.
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Gaetz associate pleads guilty to sex trafficking charges
ORLANDO, Fla.(AP) — A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the Justice Department´s sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz pleaded guilty Monday to six federal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal.
Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Gaetz’s, appeared in federal court in Orlando.He pleaded guilty to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced, including sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted that he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men.
Gaetz was not mentioned in the plea agreement or during the court hearing.But Greenberg´s cooperation — as a key figure in the investigation and a close ally of Gaetz’s — may escalate the potential legal and political liability that the firebrand Republican congressman is facing.
Federal prosecutors are examining whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, according to two people familiar with the matter.Investigators have also been looking at whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women, the people said. They are also scrutinizing Gaetz´s connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored.
The people had knowledge of the investigation but were not allowed to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
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Powerful cyclone hits land in India amid deadly virus surge
NEW DELHI (AP) — A powerful cyclone that emerged in the Arabian Sea made landfall on India’s western coast on Monday, hours after authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and suspended COVID-19 vaccinations in one state.
Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful storm to hit the region in more than two decades, came ashore in Gujarat state with heavy rain, a battering storm surge and sustained winds of up to 165 kilometers (103 miles) per hour, the India Meteorological Department said.
Forecasters warned of possible extensive damage from high winds, heavy rainfall and flooding in low-lying areas.
Twelve people were reported dead before the storm hit land and hundreds of thousands were evacuated, a process complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The massive storm came as India is battling a devastating coronavirus surge — and both the storm and the virus could exacerbate the effects of the other.The storm had already led to the suspension of some vaccination efforts and there is greater risk of virus transmission in crowded evacuation shelters.
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Judge to Durst jurors after delay: ‘Where did we leave off?’
INGLEWOOD, Calif.(AP) — The murder trial of multimillionaire Robert Durst resumed Monday without the defendant present and with arguments about whether the case should continue after a rare 14-month recess.
Judge Mark Windham questioned jurors in Los Angeles County Superior Court to see if they can complete their assignment that was interrupted in March 2020 during the pandemic.If so, it could be a first for the U.S. legal system.
«So, where did we leave off?» Windham said as jurors laughed.
The length of the stoppage is unprecedented and it´s the highest-profile U.S. case postponed because of the pandemic, Durst´s lawyers say.They have repeatedly — and unsuccessfully — sought a mistrial because they argued the delay harmed his chance of a fair trial.
Durst, 78, an heir to a New York commercial real estate empire, has pleaded not guilty in the killing of his best friend, Susan Berman, at her Los Angeles home in 2000.
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Ex-rebel capitalizes on Colombia unrest by showing restraint
MIAMI (AP) — As the streets of Colombia smolder amid the biggest antigovernment unrest in decades, a former rebel leader who would undo antinarcotics cooperation with the U.S.is looking to capitalize on the growing discontent and ride it to the presidency next year.
In a long political career that included a stint as Bogota´s mayor, Sen. Gustavo Petro has earned a reputation as Colombia´s perennial rabble-rouser with a silver tongue admired — when not feared — by friends and foes alike.
But he´s adopted a decidedly low-key approach to the recent protests, apparently believing that he must win over some of his many conservative skeptics to prevail in what would be his third run for Colombia´s presidency.
The protests began April 28 after President Ivan Duque attempted to ram through a tax increase amid a pandemic that has left millions without work or food.Although he quickly backed down, protesters have remained on the streets, broadening their fight to include grievances ranging from the decrepit state of Colombia´s health care and education systems to the slow implementation of a 2016 peace deal with Marxist rebels.
Duque has accused the nation´s many cocaine cartels and criminal mafias of adding fuel to the fire, although so far he´s presented no evidence to back the claim.But the culture of political violence that has long plagued Colombia has taken a toll: to date, at least 42 people have been killed, with police accused of scores of abuses.
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EXPLAINER: How AT&T-Discovery deal affects consumers, rivals
NEW YORK (AP) — AT&T said Monday it will combine its massive WarnerMedia media assets, which includes HBO and CNN, with Discovery Inc.to create a new media heavyweight in a $43 billion deal.
The deal, which isn’t slated to close until next year, will create new publicly traded company that will enter a streaming arena that has been flooded in the past two years with new players including those owned by AT&T and Discovery, which operate HBO Max and Discovery+, respectively.Bigger and more established services, such as Netflix, Disney, and Amazon, remain the ones to beat. Netflix has more than 200 million subscribers globally, and Disney has more than 100 million.
It is a major directional shift for AT&T, which squared off with the Justice Department less than three years ago in an antitrust fight when it wanted to acquire Time Warner Inc.for more than $80 billion. It also marks the second time this year AT&T is divesting a business not directly related to its core broadband and wireless business. In February, the company spun off DirecTV for a fraction of the $48.5 billion it paid for the satellite TV service in 2015.
The deal still needs approval from Discovery shareholders and regulators before it can be finalized.AT&T stockholders don´t need to vote on the transaction.
Here’s a look at how the combination is likely to affect viewers, investors, employees and competitors.
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Yes: Marv Albert, NBA´s `soundtrack,´ retiring before Finals
NEW YORK (AP) — From Michael Jordan soaring through the air to Willis Reed simply walking onto the court, Marv Albert supplied the sound that went with the sights.
Albert has called numerous sports during a Hall of Fame career that spans nearly 60 years, though he is mostly linked to basketball.
«There is no voice more closely associated with NBA basketball than Marv Albert´s,» NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement released Monday by Turner Sports.
Albert plans to retire after calling the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals, ending a career that began on the radio in 1963.
Albert will call the series for TNT.He has been with Turner for 22 years, 19 as an NBA play-by-play announcer.